Russell Garcia is an internationally famous composer/conductor/arranger, renowned for his arrangements for Stan Kenton, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald (including their Porgy and Bess album), Julie London, Frances Faye (her folk album), and many jazz artists on the Bethlehem label. Among his film scores are the science fiction classics H.G.Wells’ The Time Machine (1960) and Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961), both George Pal productions. He orchestrated Charles Chaplin’s score for Limelight which created an instrumental hit in "Terry’s Theme." At age 92 he is still actively composing and arranging and traveling around the world teaching and lecturing.

Shaynee Rainbolt is a San Francisco native now living in New York. She has released two previous CDs. She has toured internationally, and this year she and Russell Garcia won the MAC Original Song Award for their composition "I Remember." Nothing she has done in the past, in person or on recordings, prepares you for her performance on this album. The top level jazz musicians have been hand-picked by Garcia and they feature Brian O’Rourke on piano, Ken Wild on bass, Kendall Kay on drums, Alan Kaplan, Bruce Otto, and Steve Holtman on trombones, Craig Gosnell on bass trombone (the fourth trombone), Don Palmer and Shari Zippert on violins, Ernie Ehrhardt on cello, Harry Shirinian on viola, and Garcia on synth vibes.

When Shaynee sings "When I First Saw You," the love theme from Atlantis: The Lost Continent, she phrases like the great Cleo Laine and soars all over the octaves. "Flyin’ Free" is a song that Garcia wrote at Count Basie’s request. With great piano work by O’Rourke, Shaynee scats and bops with the trombones of Kaplan, Holtman, and Otto with jazz chops that remind you of O’Day and Christy and Chris Connor at their peaks with Kenton.

Shaynee’s singing of "I Remember," the 2008 MAC Award for Best Song, is enhanced by the romantic addition of the violins of Palmer and Zippert. "Livin’ in Harmony" has swinging trombone work by Kaplan, Otto, and Holtman. They individually challenge Shaynee and her casual, wild responses to each trombone call to mind Jo Stafford’s great scat number with Dave Lambert "Jolly Jo."

Shaynee dramatically sings of "Five A.M.," a forgotten torch song about a lonely woman walking the street at five a.m. in the rain so no one notices her tears. The strings and the trombones punctuate the heartbreak of the singer. On the other hand, "The Time Traveler" is the beautiful main theme from The Time Machine and Shaynee’s sensitive, tender version is the first solo vocal recording.

The last track is the title song "Charmed Life." Garcia heard an eight bar phrase that Oscar Peterson played during a performance of "How High the Moon" and asked him if he could make a tune out of it. Peterson shares the composer credit with Garcia and there is a lyric by Bob Russell. The band explodes on the melody and Shaynee zestfully keeps up with them, riding the scales effortlessly to a diminutive climax.

The musical direction and arrangements by Garcia and the superb vocal work by Rainbolt make this pop jazz album of the year. She is singing better than ever, with a warmth, musicality, and swing that makes this album the one that will be hard to beat in the awards season.

Joe Regan, Jr.
Cabaret Scenes
October 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org